Adaptive touchscreen system

ABSTRACT

A touchscreen system for adapting a user interface broadly comprises a controller and a display screen, the display screen comprising a touchscreen. The display screen is operable to present the user interface. The controller may be configured to detect a defect in an area of the touchscreen, determine a location on the display screen related to the defect, and adapting the user interface on the display screen to compensate for the defect.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of, and claims prioritybenefit to, co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. non-provisional patentapplication entitled, “ADAPTIVE TOUCHSCREEN SYSTEM,” application Ser.No. 13/277,727, filed Oct. 20, 2011. The above application is herebyincorporated by reference into the current application in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the present technology relate to touchscreen systems thatutilize optoelectronic devices to detect touches on a display screen.Touchscreen systems typically include a display screen that presentsinformation to a user and touchscreen electronics for detecting toucheson the display screen. The touchscreen system may be attached to orotherwise coupled with the display screen of an electronic device thatperforms various functions and controls the information displayed on thedisplay screen. The user may respond to questions, enter data, orotherwise operate the electronic device by touching or physicallycontacting a portion of the touchscreen.

SUMMARY

Fingerprints, dust, and other debris often accumulate on touchscreensystems and interfere with their operation, sometimes resulting in thetouchscreen system being unable to accurately recognize an interactivetouch. If the debris is not removed and/or the display screen is notcleaned in a timely fashion, then the touchscreen system may notfunction in a flawless manner because at least a portion of a userinterface presented on the display screen may be inaccessible using thetouchscreen.

Embodiments of the present technology provide a touchscreen system thatdetects when the system has a defect that prohibits the idealrecognition of touches in a certain area of the touchscreen and alerts auser of this condition. An embodiment of the touchscreen system broadlycomprises a display and a controller. The display is operable to displaya touch-sensitive user interface. The controller may be configured todetect a defect in an area of the touchscreen, determine a location onthe display related to the defect, and present the user interface on thedisplay screen in areas other than in the location of the defect.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Other aspects and advantages of the present technology will be apparentfrom the following detailed description of the embodiments and theaccompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Embodiments of the present technology are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an electronic device in which the touchscreensystem and method of the present technology may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the electronic device of FIG. 1 with a frontcover removed to show the transmitters and receivers of the touchscreensystem positioned adjacent to the edges of the device's display screen;

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the touchscreen system showingthe transmitters and receivers positioned at the perimeter of thedisplay screen and underneath the front cover of the electronic device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the electronic device and the touchscreensystem in accordance with various embodiments of the present technology;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the display screen, the transmitters, andthe receivers depicting a beam pattern created by the touchscreensystem;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the electronic device with a user interfacepresented on the display screen with no defects;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the electronic device with the user interfacescaled in the vertical direction to adapt the user interface to accountfor a defect;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the electronic device with the user interfacescaled in the horizontal direction to adapt the user interface toaccount for a defect;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the electronic device with the user interfacescaled in the horizontal and vertical directions to adapt the userinterface to account for a defect;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the electronic device with a portion of theuser interface scaled in the vertical direction to adapt the userinterface to account for a defect;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the electronic device with a portion of theuser interface not presented in the area of the defect; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of at least a portion of the steps of a methodof adapting a user interface for a touchscreen system display screen.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the electronic device with the user interfacepresenting a reduced number of functional components to account for adefect.

FIG. 14 is a top view of the electronic device with the user interfacepresenting a reduced number of high-priority functional components toaccount for a defect.

The drawing figures do not limit the present technology to the specificembodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the technology references theaccompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which thetechnology can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describeaspects of the technology in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the technology. Other embodiments can be utilizedand changes can be made without departing from the scope of the presenttechnology. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present technology isdefined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” inthis description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and arealso not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Forexample, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment mayalso be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included.Thus, the present technology can include a variety of combinationsand/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Embodiments of the present technology provide a touchscreen system foran electronic device that may adapt its user interface to account fortouchscreen defects. Under normal operation, the electronic device maypresent the user interface over most of the viewable area of a displayscreen associated with the touchscreen. The user interface may includetext and graphics that form menus, lists, dialog boxes, prompts, virtualcontrol panels, and the like that encourage or request a user to inputdata, respond to questions, or otherwise interact with the touchscreensystem by physically touching the touchscreen or areas in proximitythereto. Generally, any viewable area of the display screen may beutilized to present the user interface that prompts the user to providea touch input to the touchscreen.

In certain situations, however, a portion of the display screen maybecome unable to recognize touch inputs on the touchscreen due to adefect. The defect may include foreign objects on the touchscreen, or amalfunction of the touchscreen system. For example, with implementationsof touchscreen system using resistive touchscreen technologies, foreignobjects may apply pressure to the touchscreen and cause the falserecognition of a touch input that must be ignored. With implementationsof touchscreen system using capacitive touchscreen technologies,conductive objects, such as fingerprints, on the touchscreen maygenerate a false touch input. With implementations of touchscreen systemusing infrared (IR) technologies, debris, dust, or condensation on thetouchscreen may block one or more IR transmitters or receivers andgenerate a false touch input. With any of these technologies, defects intouchscreen coatings or films or failures with optical components maycreate a false touch input. Under such circumstances, the touchscreensystem may detect a touch input that lasts for longer than a certainperiod of time. In some implementations, the display screen andtouchscreen comprise the same physical space, such that the defect maybe simultaneously found on the touchscreen and display screen. Thus, forinstance, a defect in an area of an IR touchscreen may comprise debrisresting on a LCD display screen even though the LCD display screen isgenerally surrounded by IR sensors at its periphery.

In some embodiments, the touchscreen system may identify the length oftime for a customary touch input. Any touch input that lasts for longerthan an identified period of time may be deemed a false touch input. Forexample, a touch input may be deemed a false touch input if theidentified period of time is 5 seconds and the touch input lasts 10seconds. As a result, the touchscreen system may then associate thelocation on the touchscreen of the false touch input to be, at leasttemporarily, inoperable due to the defect.

In order to maintain the functionality of the touchscreen system, thesystem may reconfigure the user interface to be presented on the displayscreen in areas that are not deemed inoperable. In some situations, thetouchscreen system may scale at least a portion of the user interface tobe presented in a smaller area on the display screen in the horizontaldirection, the vertical direction, or both. In other situations, thetouchscreen system may remap the user interface based on a priority of afunctionality presented on the user interface. If one or more functionspresented on the user interface in the area of the defect have a lowerpriority, then the touchscreen system may remove a low priority functionin the area of the defect—thereby losing the lower-priorityfunctionality. If one or more functions presented on the user interfacein the area of the defect have a higher priority, then the touchscreensystem may present a high-priority function in an area of the userinterface that is not associated with the touchscreen system defect,which may have previously presented a lower-priority function on theuser interface—thereby moving a high priority functionality to afunctioning area of the touchscreen system. The touchscreen system wouldmaintain its higher-priority functionality while losing somelower-priority functionality.

Embodiments of the technology will now be described in more detail withreference to the drawing figures. Referring initially to FIG. 1, anelectronic device 10 in which the touchscreen system 12 of the presenttechnology may be integrated is illustrated. Embodiments of thetouchscreen system 12 may broadly comprise a display screen 14 and acontroller 16, as seen in FIGS. 1-4. The touchscreen system 12 may workin combination with a user interface 18, embodiments of which arepresented in FIGS. 6 and 7, to be presented on the display screen 14.Although the principles of the present invention are operable with manytypes of touchscreen systems, such as capacitive and resistive,embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated in operationwith an infrared (IR) touchscreen technology. Thus, the electronicdevice 10 may further comprise a plurality of transmitters 20 and aplurality of receivers 22, as seen in FIGS. 2-5, to implement thetouchscreen system 12.

The electronic device 10 may be any device that presents visualinformation to a user and with which the user may interact by providinga touch input. Examples of the electronic device 10 include commercial,retail, or public information kiosks located in banks, shopping malls,airports, and the like, computing devices such as a desktop computer,tablet computer, or a laptop computer, medical test or diagnosticequipment used in a hospital or laboratory, navigation andinstrumentation equipment used in an aircraft, marine vessel, orautomobile, portable electronics such as mobile phones and personaldevices, and similar electronic components.

The electronic device 10 may also include components not necessarilyshown in the figures, such as inputs, outputs, and communication ports.Inputs may include knobs, dials, switches, keypads, keyboards, mice,joysticks, combinations thereof, and the like. Outputs may include audiospeakers, lights, dials, meters, printers, combinations thereof, and thelike. Communication ports may be wired or wireless, electronic, optical,radio frequency (RF), combinations thereof, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, embodiments of the electronic device 10 may alsoinclude a processing element 24 that performs logical functions andcontrols the information presented on the display screen 14. Thepresented information may depend on computer programs, software, or codethat is executed by the electronic device 10, input from users utilizingthe inputs discussed above, input from the receivers 22 that isgenerated from users touching the display screen 14, and combinationsthereof. The processing element 24 may include processors,microprocessors, microcontrollers, field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), or similar components that are capable of executing computerprograms, applications, software, or code. The processing element 24 mayfurther include data storage components such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), hard-disk drives, optical disk drives, flashmemory drives, combinations thereof, and the like.

The electronic device 10 may further include a cover 26 that is shown inFIG. 1, but is removed in FIG. 2 to reveal the transmitters 20 and thereceivers 22. The cover 26 generally provides protection for thetransmitters 20, the receivers 22, the display screen 14, and any othercomponents in the vicinity thereof. In some embodiments, the cover 26may include or form a bezel around display screen 14. The cover 26 mayhave a shape that conforms to a housing or a body of the electronicdevice 10 to which the cover 26 may be attached. The cover 26 mayinclude a window 28 or opening that aligns with the display screen 14.The window 28 may have a similar size and aspect ratio as the displayscreen 14.

As stated above, the principles of the present invention are operablewith many types of touchscreen systems 12, such as infrared touchscreen,capacitive touchscreen, and resistive touchscreen. Embodiments of thepresent invention may employ resistive touchscreen, capacitivetouchscreen, or similar configurations where portions of a touchscreenpanel are positioned above the display screen 14. Embodiments of thepresent invention implementing infrared touchscreen technology astouchscreen system 12 may use a cover 26 shaped so that the window 28does not contact the display screen 14 and allows some space in order toaccommodate the operation of the transmitters 20 and the receivers 22.In some embodiments, the space between the window 28 and the displayscreen 14 may be empty. In other embodiments, a transparent gasket orseal may be placed between the window 28 and the display screen 14.Furthermore, when the touchscreen system 12 is finally assembled, thecover 26 may be positioned over the transmitters 20 and the receivers22, as seen in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the transmitters 20 and thereceivers 22 may not be visible or accessible.

The display screen 14 may display the user interface 18, which presentsuser input options enabling the user to interact with the electronicdevice 10. The user interface 18 is generally anything that is presentedon the display screen 14 and may include questions or statements thatprompt the user to enter a touch input using infrared technology (thetransmitters 20 and the receivers 22) or a touchscreen panel. The userinterface 18 may also include on-screen keyboards, numeric oralphanumeric keypads, menuing systems, popup windows, buttons, icons,selectable graphics, virtual control panels, and the like. Thus, theuser may enter a touch input to respond to prompts or questions, typetext, enter numbers, activate menus, open windows or dialog boxes,scroll through lists, or similar activities. Thus, the electronic device10 may be controlled by or may operate in response to touch inputsprovided to the touchscreen system 12.

The display screen 14 may be of a variety of types, including, but notlimited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma, light-emitting diode(LED), organic LED (OLED), LEP (Light Emitting Polymer) or PLED (PolymerLED), liquid crystal display (LCD), thin film transistor (TFT) LCD, LEDside-lit or back-lit LCD, combinations thereof, and the like. In variousembodiments, the display screen 14 may be integral with the electronicdevice 10, as shown in FIGS. 2-3 and exemplified by a device such as amulti-use avionics system controller. In other embodiments, the displayscreen 14 may be separate from the electronic device 10, such as with acomputer monitor or other video monitor.

The display screen 14 is generally flat to accommodate the operation ofthe transmitters 20 and the receivers 22, as discussed in more detailbelow. The display screen 14 may have multiple sides but is typicallyfour-sided with a top side 30, a bottom side 32, a left side 34, and aright side 36. The display screen 14 may possess a square or arectangular aspect ratio and may be viewed in either a landscape or aportrait mode. Furthermore, the display screen 14 may include a firstaxis and a second axis. The first axis may be either horizontal orvertical and may be oriented parallel to one of the sides 30, 32, 34,36. The second axis may be either horizontal or vertical but generallyorthogonal to the first axis and may be oriented parallel to anorthogonal one of the sides 30, 32, 34, 36.

The transmitters 20, also designated as “TX”, and the receivers 22, alsodesignated as “RX”, may be positioned along all sides of the perimeterof the display screen 14 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 5 such that thetransmitters 20 may transmit beams 42 across the display screen 14 tothe receivers 22, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Typically, the transmitters20 and the receivers 22 are placed such that they are adjacent to theentire perimeter of the display screen 14. Accordingly, the number oftransmitters 20 and receivers 22 may depend on the length of theperimeter, the size of each transmitter 20 and receiver 22, and thespace between each device. Other factors may influence the number oftransmitters 20 and receivers 22, such as minimizing power consumptionof the touchscreen system 12, in which case the number of transmitters20 and receivers 22 may be reduced.

Generally, the transmitters 20 and the receivers 22 are placed with thetransmitters 20 being interleaved with the receivers 22, such that onereceiver 22 is positioned between two transmitters 20 and vice versa.The beam 42 from the transmitter 20 may have a conical shape in generalor a triangular shape when viewed in a plane. Thus, the beam 42 from onetransmitter 20 may reach several receivers 22 on the other side of thedisplay screen 14. As a result, several beams 42 may be formed betweenone transmitter 20 and the receivers 22 on the opposing side. Forexample, as seen in FIG. 5, one beam 42 may be formed between onetransmitter 20 and each of four receivers 22 to produce a total of fourbeams 42, although this number may decrease near the corners of thedisplay screen 14. Furthermore, each receiver 22 may receive a beam 42from multiple transmitters 20. Hence, there may be multiple beams 42that lead to one receiver 22. For example, as seen in FIG. 5, eachreceiver 22 may receive four beams 42, except in the vicinity of thecorners of the display screen 14 where the number of beams 42 perreceiver 22 decreases.

In various embodiments, the transmitters 20 may be positioned along oneside of the display screen 14 substantially linearly aligned with thetransmitters 20 along the opposite side of the display screen 14.Likewise, the receivers 22 may be substantially linearly aligned withreceivers 22 along opposing sides of the display screen 14. Thisorientation may produce the pattern of beams 42 shown in FIG. 5.However, the touchscreen system 12 may function properly with otherorientations of transmitters 20 and receivers 22, which, along with theresultant pattern of beams 42, are within the scope of the infraredtouchscreen system 12.

Each of the transmitters 20 generally transmits a beam 42 thatcorresponds to a transmit signal 44 from the controller 16. The transmitsignal 44 may be received by a transmitter input 46. Each transmitter 20may receive the transmit signal 44, either as a voltage or a current,from the controller 16 and generate the corresponding beam 42 with anintensity that is proportional to the magnitude of the transmit signal44—typically in the infrared (IR) wavelength range of approximately 700nanometers (nm) to approximately 1500 nm. The beam 42 may be consideredto be an optical transmission and thus the transmitter 20 may includelight-emitting diodes (LEDs), surface-emitting or edge-emitting lasers,similar optoelectronic devices, or combinations thereof.

The transmit signal 44 from the controller 16 and the corresponding beam42 may be generated at a constant level or, more often, a varying level,wherein the beam 42 is turned on and off in a pattern. The importantfunction for the transmitter 20 is to produce a beam 42 that is capableof being interrupted or broken.

Each of the receivers 22 may produce a receive signal 48 that iscommunicated through a receiver output 50 and corresponds to radiationdetected by a sensing surface of the receiver 22. The receiver 22 mayinclude photodetectors, photocells, phototransistors, photoresistors,photodiodes, other photosensitive materials that may detect IRradiation, or combinations thereof. The receiver 22 may produce thereceive signal 48 as an analog electrical or electronic output, eithervoltage or current, that corresponds to the detected radiation.

The receive signal 48 may generally correspond to or somewhat resemblethe transmit signal 44 while the beam 42 is unbroken and received by thereceiver 22. Thus, the receive signal 48 may indicate when the beam 42is broken and not received by the receiver 22. A user's fingersubstantially touching the display screen 14 may break one or more ofthe beams 42 to indicate the presence of a touch input.

The controller 16 may include digital to analog converters (DACs),analog to digital converters (ADCs), signal amplifiers, drivers, similarelectrical or electronic circuits, or combinations thereof. Thecontroller 16 generally sends the transmit signal 44 to the transmitters20 and receives the receive signal 48 from the receivers 22.Accordingly, the controller 16 may include a plurality of outputs 52that are coupled to the transmitter inputs 46 and a plurality of inputs54 that are coupled to the receiver outputs 50. The transmit signal 44and the receive signal 48 may include a variable analog voltage orcurrent level.

The controller 16 may also include a data output 56 to send informationto the electronic device 10, such as the location associated with thedisplay screen 14 where a touch input was received. In order todetermine the location of a touch input and perform other functions, thecontroller 16 may execute computer programs, software, code,instructions, algorithms, or firmware, and combinations thereof. Thecontroller 16 may include circuitry, such as finite state machines(FSMs), that automatically performs instructions. The controller 16 mayalso include processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), combinations thereof, and the like, and may beimplemented using hardware description languages (HDLs), such as Verilogand VHDL. The controller 16 may further include data storage componentssuch as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), hard-diskdrives, optical disk drives, flash memory, combinations thereof, and thelike. In addition, the controller 16 may include communication ports toallow for programming or other miscellaneous functions.

During operation, the controller 16 may analyze the status of one ormore of the receive signals 48. Because the receive signal 48 from eachreceiver 22 is supposed to have a variable periodic amplitude inresponse to the periodic beam 42 transmitted by the transmitters 20, adefect may be indicated when a receive signal 48 is stuck at a knownvalue for longer than a customary period of time (e.g., 2 seconds, 5seconds, 10 seconds, etc.), or if the receive signal 48 is stuck at anintermediate value. The defect may be the result of foreign objects(dust, condensation, or the like) present on the display screen 14 orother portions of the touchscreen system 12, and blocking one or morebeams 42, leading to one or more receive signals 48 being stuck. Thecontroller 16 may employ the techniques for detecting foreign objectsthat are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/215,752,entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR DETECTING DEBRIS ON A TOUCHSCREENSYSTEM DISPLAY SCREEN” and filed on Aug. 23, 2011, which is herebyincorporated by reference into the current application in its entirety.

In addition, the defect may also be the result of one or moretransmitters 20 and/or receivers 22 not functioning properly duringoperation of the electronic device 10. By comparing the level of thereceive signals 48 with expected levels in combination with othertechniques, such as monitoring power supply current, or by analyzing thepattern of which receive signals 48 are stuck, the controller 16 maydetermine that one or more receivers 22 and/or transmitters 20 aremalfunctioning. For capacitive and resistive systems, the controller 16may detect the presence of a defect in an area of the touchscreen system12 by identifying unexpected resistive or capacitive signals, such assignals indicating a touch input duration exceeding a customary periodof time (e.g., 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.).

Once the controller 16 has a defect in the area of the touchscreensystem 12, the controller 16 may then determine a location on thedisplay screen 14 related to the defect, such as the area of the displayscreen 14 that has been affected by the defect. For example, thecontroller 16 may analyze which receive signals 48 are stuck and thenperform calculations to determine the location of the defect based onthe positions of the affected receive signals 48. Furthermore, each areaof the display screen 14 may be identified by a specific combination ofreceive signals 48. The controller 16 may alternatively or additionallyutilize stored data, such as a lookup table, to determine the area ofthe defect based on the combination of stuck receive signals 48. Thecontroller 16 may also employ other algorithms to determine the locationof the defect.

In various embodiments, the controller 16 may also be programmed togenerate an alert signal 58 indicating that the display screen 14 needsto be examined and, in some instances, cleaned. The alert signal 58 mayinclude a flashing light or a prompt on the display screen 14, a messagesent to an external monitor, an audio alert, or the like, andcombinations thereof. The controller 16 may control the display screen14, or at least a portion of the display screen 14, to indicate theposition on the display screen 14 where the defect may be located. Forexample, the controller 16 may display a box or a circle on the displayscreen 14 where the display screen 14 should be cleaned. In someembodiments, the controller 16 may identify the type of defect, such asdebris, film, condensation, frost, etc.

It is possible that the user may not be able to clean the display screen14 or inspect the receivers 22 and transmitters 20 promptly once adefect has been detected. Particularly in the case of a spill on thedisplay screen 14, or if a transmitter 20 or receiver 22 ismalfunctioning, the defect may not be correctable quickly by cleaningthe display screen 14, receivers 22, or transmitters 20. Therefore, oncethe controller 16 has determined that there is a defect of thetouchscreen system 12, the controller 16 may reconfigure the userinterface 18 to be presented in areas of the display screen 14 that arenot affected by the defect. Even though the defect may prevent thetouchscreen system 12 from receiving a touch input in a particular areaof the display screen 14, the controller 16 may display a warning labelor other indicator 60, such as presenting an “X”, as shown in FIGS.7-11, in the area associated with the defect, or as discussed above,controller 16 may also present an indication of an area of thetouchscreen system 12 that should be inspected and/or cleaned.

In general, the user interface 18 may include functional components 62that are shown on the display screen 14, as seen in FIGS. 6-11. Thefunctional components 62 may be generated by or associated withprograms, applications, interactive menus, virtual objects, and thelike, or combinations thereof. The functional components 62, may includefor example, selectable icons, boxes, fields, keyboards, keypads, scrolland slide bars, movable widgets, combinations thereof, and the like.Some modes of operation of the touchscreen system 12 may require justone functional component 62 that is presented over most of the viewablearea of the display screen 14, while other modes may require a pluralityof functional components 62 that are presented in various areas of thedisplay screen 14. As an example, the electronic device 10 (with nodefects) is shown in FIG. 6 which includes the user interface 18 witheight functional components 62 being presented on the display screen 14.

In some embodiments, the controller 16 may be programmed to scale theuser interface 18 to fit on the display screen 14 in areas of theassociated touchscreen system 12 that are not affected by the defect.This may require that at least a portion of the user interface 18 bepresented in a reduced area than was previously available for presentinginformation on display screen 14. The controller 16 may scale the userinterface 18 in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, orboth, depending, perhaps, on the location of the defect. An example ofthe controller 16 scaling all of the user interface 18 uniformly in thevertical direction is shown in FIG. 7. An example of the controller 16scaling all of the user interface 18 uniformly in the horizontaldirection is shown in FIG. 8. An example of the controller 16 scalingall of the user interface 18 uniformly in both the vertical directionand the horizontal direction is shown in FIG. 9. In some situations, thecontroller 16 may scale only a portion of the functional components 62and allow other functional components 62 to remain their original size,as shown in FIG. 10.

In other embodiments, the controller 16 may not scale the user interface18, or it may be undesirable to employ scaling. Because the area of thedisplay screen 14 associated with the defect of the touchscreen system12 may be inoperable, at least some portion of the user interface 18 maynot be presented. In such situations, the controller 16 may determinewhich portions of the user interface 18 should be presented. Priorityfor the functional components 62 of the user interface 18 may bedetermined based on the type of each functional component or otherpriority determining criteria assigned during manufacture of the device10 and/or by a user of the electronic device 10. Some of the functionalcomponents 62 may be more important to the operation of the electronicdevice 10, while other functional components 62 may be less important.If a functional component 62 that is customarily presented in the areaof the display screen 14 associated with the defect of the touchscreensystem 12 is of lower priority (e.g., a video game), then that portionof the user interface 18 may be identified and the functional component62 may not be presented. If a functional component 62 that iscustomarily presented in the area of the display screen 14 associatedwith the defect of the touchscreen system 12 is of higher priority(e.g., engine control), then that functional component 62 may bepresented in the location associated with a lower-priority functionalcomponent 62 and the lower-priority functional component 62 may not bepresented. An example of a higher-priority functional component 62 beingpresented in the location of a lower-priority functional component 62 isshown in FIG. 11.

Referring back to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the electronic device 10includes the user interface 18 with eight functional components 62 beingpresented on the display screen 14, in which functional component 6 ispresented adjacent to functional component 5, when there are no defectsassociated with the touchscreen system 12. The example of FIG. 11illustrates a functional component 8 determined to be of a higherpriority than functional component 6. In this example, the informationassociated with functional component 6 is no longer presented as a partof user interface 18 and the information associated with functionalcomponent 8 is now presented in the original location of functionalcomponent 6 adjacent to functional component 5.

The controller 16 may reconfigure functional components 62 to enable auser of electronic device 10 to access functional components 62 that areno longer presented on user interface 18. In some embodiments, thecontroller 16 may move any low-priority functional component(s) 62 thatmay no longer be presented to a sub-menu associated with functionalcomponents 62 that are presented on display screen 14. For example, afunctional component 62 may be created that provides access tofunctional components 62 that are not presented on user interface 18.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 may store layouts for userinterface 18 that present information display screen 14 in certain areasin a memory. Stored layouts provide a user interface 18 rearrangementsthat may be familiar to the user of electronic device 10 and minimizeuser confusion. For example, controller 16 may identify a defect thelower-right portion of the touchscreen system 12 and determine whether astored layout presents information on the upper and lower-left portionof user interface 18. A suitable stored layout may be appliedautomatically to user interface 18 or presented as a menu option ondisplay screen 14 for a user of electronic device 10. In someembodiments, a pre-defined standard for arranging information presentedon user interface 18 may be used. For example, the user interface 18 maybe reduced by a percentage (e.g., 50% of the display area). If thecontroller 16 determines that a touchscreen system 12 defect impacts 30%of the display screen 14 area, user interface 18 may be reduced to the50% display area of display screen 14. Although 70% of the touchscreensystem 12 is functional without defect, the user interface 18 may bepresented in a pre-defined configuration that is familiar to the userover a reduced area to ensure that touch inputs may be accuratelyidentified by a functioning portion of the touchscreen system 12.

An embodiment of the touchscreen system 12 may function as follows. Thecontroller 16 may send the transmit signal 44 to the transmitters 20.Beams 42 corresponding to the transmit signal 44 may be transmitted bythe transmitters 20 and received by the receivers 22. The controller 16may receive the receive signals 48 from one or more of the receivers 22and may determine if any of the receive signals 48 are stuck. If so,then the controller 16 may keep track of the time for which the receivesignal 48 is stuck. Or, the controller 16 may evaluate the level of thestuck receive signal 48. If the receive signal 48 is stuck for too long,or if the level of the stuck receive signal 48 is outside of acceptablevalues, then the controller 16 may identify a defect associated withtouchscreen system 12.

The controller 16 may analyze which receive signals 48 are stuck inorder to determine the location of the defect. The controller 16 mayperform calculations, access stored data, or utilize other algorithms todetermine the area of the display screen 14 associated with the defect.

When the location of the defect is identified, the controller 16 maydisplay a warning and/or malfunction indicator 60 on the display screen14 in the area of the defect. The controller 16 may also reconfigure theuser interface 18 in order to present user interface 18 only in theareas of the display screen 14 not associated with the defect. In someembodiments, the controller 16 may scale at least a portion of the userinterface 18 to be presented in a smaller area of the display screen 14.The scaling may occur in the horizontal direction, the verticaldirection, or both. In other embodiments, scaling may not be availableor practical. The controller 16 may determine which portions of the userinterface 18 may be presented in the areas of the display screen 14 notassociated with the defect. The controller 16 may not present a portionof the user interface 18 that is customarily presented in the area ofthe display screen 14 associated with the defect if that portion has alower-priority functionality than other functionality presented ondisplay screen 14. The controller 16 may present the higher-priorityfunctionality in an area of the display screen 14 that is customarilyused to present a lower-priority functionality by removing thelower-priority functionality. In some embodiments, various informationcomprising the user interface 18 may be reorganized for presentation. Inother embodiments, only the moved and removed functionalities may beimpacted, with the rest of the user interface 18 continuing to presentinformation in its customary location on display screen 14.

If the user cleans the touchscreen system 12 in the area of the defector otherwise repairs the defect, then the controller 16 may reset theuser interface 18 or may return it to its customary configuration,wherein the user interface 18 is presented over most of the viewablearea of the display screen 14—including the area of the repaired defect.The user may then enter touch inputs to the touchscreen system 12 in thearea where the defect used to be in order to interact with theelectronic device 10.

The controller 16 may repeat the process of checking for stuck receivesignals 48 indefinitely while the touchscreen system 12 remains in use.

Steps of a method 100 for adapting a user interface 18 of a displayscreen 14 for a touchscreen system 12 implemented with infraredtouchscreen technology, in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention, are shown in FIG. 12. The steps may be performed inthe order as shown in FIG. 12, or they may be performed in a differentorder. Furthermore, some steps may be performed concurrently as opposedto sequentially. In addition, some steps may not be performed and/orother steps may be added.

In connection with step 101, a plurality of beams 42 are transmittedfrom a plurality of transmitters 20 to a plurality of receivers 22. Eachbeam 42 may correspond to a transmit signal 44, which typically has anamplitude that varies over time. The transmitters 20 and the receivers22 may be placed around the perimeter of a display screen 14, andpositioned such that each transmitter 20 is generally opposing one ormore receivers 22. One or more beams 42 is transmitted from eachtransmitter 20. Each receiver 22 receives one or more beams 42 from thetransmitters 20.

In connection with step 102, one or more of the receivers 22 generates areceive signal 48, which corresponds to the received beam 42 transmittedby a transmitter 20. Thus, the receive signal 48 may also have anamplitude that varies over time.

In connection with step 103, possible defects of the touchscreen system12 are detected. Defects may be the result of debris on the displayscreen 14 interfering with touchscreen system 12 or a problem witheither one or more transmitters 20 and/or one or more receivers 22 oftouchscreen system 12. A status of all of the receive signals 48 isanalyzed by the controller 16 to determine possible defects withtouchscreen system 12. A defect may be identified by a receive signal 48that does not operate as expected, including, but not limited to, areceive signal 48 that is stuck or not changing in amplitude over timeas expected. Particularly, a defect may be identified by a receivesignal 48 that does not vary for longer than a customary period of time(e.g., 5 seconds) or by a receive signal 48 that is received at a valueoutside of expected range. In some embodiments, the controller 16 mayidentify and store information related to problematic receive signals 48in a memory device.

In connection with step 104, a location on the display screen 14 isdetermined that is related to the defect. The defect location isgenerally determined by associating the touchscreen system 12 with thedisplay screen 14. The controller 16 may perform calculations, accessstored data, or utilize other algorithms to determine the area of thedisplay screen 14 associated with the touchscreen system 12 defect.

In connection with step 105, the user interface 18 is presented on thedisplay screen 14 in areas other than in the location of the touchscreensystem 12 defect. In some embodiments, the controller 16 may scale atleast a portion of the user interface 18 to be presented in a smallerarea of the display screen 14. The scaling may occur in the horizontaldirection, the vertical direction, or both. In other embodiments,scaling may not be available or practical. The controller 16 maydetermine which portions of the user interface 18 may be presented inthe areas of the display screen 14 not associated with the defect. Thecontroller 16 may not present a portion of the user interface 18 that iscustomarily presented in the area of the display screen 14 associatedwith the defect if that portion has a lower-priority functionality thanother functionality presented on the display screen 14. The controller16 may present the higher-priority functionality in an area of thedisplay screen 14 that is customarily used to present a lower-priorityfunctionality by removing the lower-priority functionality. Inconnection with step 106, an indicator 60 is presented on the displayscreen 14 to notify a user of the electronic device 10 that thetouchscreen system 12 is inoperable in the area of the defect. Thecontroller 16 may display a warning message or an indicator 60 such asan “X” on the display screen 14 in the location of the defect.

In connection with step 107, the user interface 18 is restored to itscustomary default configuration, if the defect is corrected. Once thedefect has been repaired, such as by cleaning or servicing displayscreen 14, the receivers 22, and/or transmitters 20, then the controller16 may reconfigure the user interface 18 such that the user interface 18is presented over most of the viewable area of the display screen14—including the area of the repaired defect.

The defect may apply to a substantial area of the touchscreen system 12rather than isolated areas. In some embodiments, the user interface 18may be adapted for the entire display screen 14. For example, if thetouchscreen system 12 defect lowers the number touch-sensitive areas(i.e., reduced touchscreen system 12 resolution), controller 16 maypresent fewer enlarged function components 62 to compensate for thedefect.

As described above, FIG. 6 depicts the electronic device 10 without anydefects, including a user interface 18 with eight functional components62 being presented on the display screen 14. In some embodiments,presented function components may have originally been presented in aselected region of user interface 18 prior to the touchscreen system 12defect. For example, controller 16 may identify eight functioncomponents 62 presented on user interface 18 and select functioncomponents 62 presented in the upper region for presentation on the userinterface 18. As shown in FIG. 13, the presented function components 62may be reduced to function component 1, function component 2, functioncomponent 3, and function component 4. The selected user interface 18region may be based on a defect severity in different areas of thetouchscreen system 12, configurable settings, user input, or acombination thereof. For example, controller 16 may enlarge functioncomponents 62 originally presented in an area of the user interface 18based on a user input identifying a region of the user interface 18containing function components 62 to be enlarged (e.g., upper, lower,center, left, right, etc.). In some embodiments, function components 62selected for presentation on user interface 18 may be based on priorityof the function components 62 presented prior to the touchscreen system12 defect. For example, controller 16 may identify function component 5,function component 7, function component 4, and function component 3 ashaving a higher-priority than other function components 62 and selectthe high-priority function elements 62 for presentation as userinterface 18 as shown in FIG. 14.

Although the length and width of the touchscreen system 12 and displayscreen 14 are substantially similar in the examples above, it is to beunderstood that the techniques described herein are applicable toembodiments in which the touchscreen system 12 and display screen 14 arenot substantially similar.

Although the technology has been described with reference to theembodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is notedthat equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the technology as recited in the claims.

Having thus described various embodiments of the technology, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of adapting a user interface for atouchscreen system associated with a display screen, the methodcomprising the steps of: a) detecting, using a processing element, adefect in an area of the touchscreen system; b) determining, using theprocessing element, a location on the display screen related to thedefect, the display screen presenting the user interface including oneor more functional components selectable with a touch input over theviewable area of the display screen; c) adapting, using the processingelement, the user interface on the display screen based on a priority ofeach functional component to compensate for the defect; and d)identifying, using the processing element, a touch input in an area ofthe touchscreen system associated with a selectable functional componentof the adapted user interface as a selection of the functionalcomponent.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining apriority associated with each functional component to identifyhigh-priority functional components.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe priority associated with each functional component is stored in amemory.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the priority associated witheach functional component is determined based on an importance or typeof each functional component.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinhigh-priority functional components are included in the adapted userinterface.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the high-priorityfunctional components are presented in an area of the user interfacethat is not associated with the defect.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the area of the user interface that is not associated with thedefect presented functional components having lower-priority than thehigh-priority functional components prior to step c).
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining a priority associated with eachfunctional component to identify functional components having alower-priority than the high-priority functional components, wherein thelower-priority functional components are not included in the adapteduser interface.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the adapted userinterface includes a sub-menu providing access to lower-priorityfunctional components that are not included in the adapted userinterface.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the adapted user interfacehas remapped the functional components based on the priority of eachfunctional component.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprisingpresenting an indicator on the display screen that the touchscreensystem is inoperable in the area of the defect prior to step c).
 12. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising restoring the user interface to adefault configuration, if the defect is corrected.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein step a) further comprises the steps of: transmitting aplurality of beams from a plurality of transmitters to a plurality ofreceivers, generating a receive signal from one or more of the receiversthat detects at least one of the beams, and analyzing a status of thereceive signals to detect the defect.
 14. An adaptive touchscreen systemcomprising: a memory to store a priority associated with functionalcomponents; a display screen for presenting a user interface includingone or more functional components selectable with a touch input over aviewable area of the display screen, the display screen comprising atouchscreen; and a controller configured to detect a defect in an areaof the touchscreen, determine a location on the display screen relatedto the defect, determine the priority associated with each functionalcomponent to identify high-priority functional components, adapt theuser interface based on the priority of each selectable functionalcomponent to present high-priority functional components of the userinterface on the display screen in areas other than in the location ofthe defect, and identify a touch input in an area of the touchscreensystem associated with a selectable functional component of the adapteduser interface as a selection of the functional component.
 15. Thesystem of claim 1414, wherein the controller is further configured toidentifying functional components having a lower-priority than thehigh-priority functional components, wherein the lower-priorityfunctional components are not included in the adapted user interface.16. The system of claim 1414, wherein the adapted user interfaceincludes a sub-menu providing access to lower-priority functionalcomponents that are not included in the adapted user interface.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein at least one functional component presentedon the adapted user interface provides access to the sub-menu.
 18. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the adapted user interface has remapped thefunctional components based on the priority of each functionalcomponent.
 19. The system of claim 1414, further comprising: a pluralityof transmitters for transmitting beams across the display screen, and aplurality of receivers for detecting the beams from the transmitters andgenerating receive signals, wherein the controller is in communicationwith the transmitters and the receivers and configured to analyze astatus of the receive signals to detect the defect.
 20. An adaptivetouchscreen system comprising: a memory to store a priority associatedwith functional components; a display screen for presenting a userinterface including one or more functional components selectable with atouch input over the viewable area of the display screen, the displayscreen comprising a touchscreen; a plurality of transmitters fortransmitting beams across the display screen; a plurality of receiversfor detecting the beams from the transmitters and generating receivesignals; a controller configured to: analyze a status of the receivesignals, detect a defect in an area of the touchscreen, determine alocation on the display screen related to the defect, determine thepriority associated with each functional component to identifyhigh-priority functional components, adapt the user interface based onthe priority of each selectable functional component to presenthigh-priority functional components of the user interface on the displayscreen in areas other than in the location of the defect, and identify atouch input in an area of the touchscreen system associated with aselectable functional component of the adapted user interface as aselection of the functional component.